Traders of Bangabazar, whose businesses burned down in the recent fire at the market, set up temporary shops on the streets and footpaths at the site of the incident today. Around 800 traders displayed their stocks since this morning. They set up their makeshift shops under the flyover, on the south side of Bangabazar Market. Many traders are sitting with the clothes they were able to save from the devastating fire last Tuesday. Even though there is a crowd around the shops, sales are yet to pick up.  The traders setting up the temporary shops said they were displaying whatever goods they could save from the Bangabazar Market fire. Aynal Hossain was sitting at his shop under the flyover. He told UNB that he had two shops in Bangabazar Market. Both shops were burnt to ashes. “I was able to move some stuff. So I brought it here. No sale yet, because our regular customers do not know the address of the shop. Only Allah knows how we will celebrate this Eid,” he said. Trader Shahidul Islam had a shop in Bangabazar, selling jeans and shirts. The shop burnt to ashes and now he has also set up shop on the footpath. Read more: Bangabazar fire finally doused after 75 hours “Everything is over. There is no money for food at home. So, I was forced to set up shop on the footpath,” he lamented. Last Tuesday, (April 4) at 6:10 am, a terrible fire broke out in Bangabazar  complex in the capital. Bongo Market, Gulistan Market, Mahanagar Shopping Complex, Adarsha Market and Annex Tower were burnt down. Businessmen claim that they have lost around Tk 2000 crore in the fire.  

This Ramadan, two traders in Chandpur’s Faridganj upazila are going above and beyond to uphold the spirit of the holy month. Shah Alam, owner of a grocery shop adjacent to Central Charkumira Mohila Madrasa in Faridganj, is selling iftar essentials including pulses, puffed rice, flattened rice, dates etc. at a profit of only Tk 1. Mostafa Kamal, owner of a medicine store at Sanki Sair Bazar in East Balithuba of the same upazila, is selling medicines at purchase price during Ramadan. Read More: With no easing of price hike, tough times for people in Khulna as Ramadan begins Friday Both traders distributed leaflets among people and informed through social media in this regard.These noble initiatives have created quite a buzz in the locality. According to Shah Alam and Mostafa, sales are seeing a boost, and locals are praising their initiative. Alhaj Jahangir Akhand Selim, president of Chandpur District Industry and Merchants Association, has issued a statement urging all traders in the district to sell iftar essentials and other commodities at low profit in public interest during Ramadan. Read More: Muslims in 40 Chandpur villages set to commence Ramadan with Saudi Arabia.

Bangladesh Bank has simplified the bank account opening process for small traders, dropping trade license requirements. The name of the account will be 'Personal Retail Account' or 'Private Retail Account'. This account can be opened in banks, mobile financial services (MFS), e-wallet service providers, and payment service providers (PSP). Individual small entrepreneurs can transact through such an account for commercial purposes, said Bangladesh Bank. Also read: Tax return document not needed for loans up to Tk 20 lakh: NBR The central bank revealed this information in a discussion with Asian Development Bank on Saturday. A personal retail account can be opened only after submitting the documents required for e-KYC in bank account opening. There is no cost to open this account. Besides, loan will also be available on the basis of transaction. Even if the account is in MFS, the cash-out cost will be less. Director of the Payment System Department of Bangladesh Bank, Masbaul Haque, told UNB that there is opportunity to open a ‘personal retail account’ without a trade license. Also read: Takes 6-12 months to identify a share market manipulator in existing system: BSEC Chairman The central bank has issued such a directive to encourage the growth of small business sector. According to Bangladesh Bank’s circular, no trade license will be required to open an ‘individual retail account’. E-KYC and necessary documents to open a bank account have to be submitted. It will be managed like a current account. This account can be used for commercial purposes, Bangladesh Bank sources said. Read Export Development Fund loans can be repaid in instalments from now on However, a maximum of Tk 10 lakh per month can be transacted through this account. The one-time status of this account will be maximum Tk 5 lakh. Micro and small traders such as grocers, floating food vendors, bus-CNG-rickshaw drivers, street vendors, sellers of various products and services on Facebook, or service providers engaged in various marginal professions can open this account. A copy of the national identity card and proof of profession are required to open the account. Trade license is not mandatory for professional credentials. A valid document issued by the local public representative or the relevant business association is required. All banks, MFS, and PSP service providers in the country will open this account free of cost, said the central bank. Read How to Get a Trade License in Bangladesh?

  Two traders were killed when their vehicle skidded off the road and plunged into a ditch in the Nangolmara area of Baghaichhari upazila on Wednesday. The deceased were identified as Elias Ali, 45, of Korengatoli, and Ananta Tripura, 40, of the Sajek Machalong area of the upazila.  Read:College student killed in Narayanganj road accident The accident occurred in the morning when the vehicle carrying bananas turned turtle and then skidded off the road before plunging into the ditch along Baghaihat-Sajek Road. "The crash that happened after the driver lost control of the speeding vehicle left the two traders dead on the spot," said Nurul Haque, officer-in-charge of Sajek Police Station. The driver of the vehicle managed to flee the scene, he said. "Efforts are on to nab him."  

Gunmen believed to be separatist rebels killed 10 traders and wounded two others in an attack Saturday in Indonesia’s restive Papua province, police said. Clashes have escalated in country's the easternmost province since last year, when rebels set fire to several schools and killed two teachers. Attackers were believed to be members of the West Papua Liberation Army, the military wing of the Free Papua Organization, police said. Read: Indonesian troops kill Papuan rebel commander About 20 gunmen stormed the village of Nogolait in Nduga district while a grocer was preparing to open his wares. They shot him and seven other traders who were on an open freight truck, along with four passersby, said Papua police spokesman Ahmad Musthofa Kamal. He said that most of the victims, all men, were immigrants from other Indonesian islands. Security forces found the bodies scattered in four separate areas. Seven men were killed instantly while three others died at a nearby clinic, Kamal said. He said police and the military were searching for the attackers. A spokesperson for the Free Papua Organization couldn’t immediately be reached for comment. On many occasions, rebel spokesman Sebby Sambom has said the group’s fighters had warned civilians to leave areas the rebels consider a “war zone.” He also urged workers to leave all Indonesian government projects, or they would be considered part of security forces. Papua is a former Dutch colony in the western part of New Guinea that is ethnically and culturally distinct from much of Indonesia. Conflicts between indigenous Papuans and Indonesian security forces have raged for years. Indonesia’s government, which for decades had a policy of sending Javanese and other Indonesians to settle in Papua, is now trying to spur economic development to dampen the separatist movement. In March, rebel gunmen killed eight technicians repairing a remote telecommunications tower. In December 2018, at least 31 construction workers and a soldier were killed in one of the worst attacks in the province.

The Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FBCCI) has called upon traders to sell products at prices fixed by the  government to keep the market stable ahead of Eid –Ul- Azha. FBCCI Senior Vice-president and convener of market monitoring committee Mostofa Azad Chowdhury made the call at a discussion meeting with Mohammadpur Town Hall, Dhaka North City Corporation Kitchen Market Traders Association  Saturday afternoon. During the meeting, Mostofa Azad urged to keep the domestic market stable and not to capitalize on the global market crisis. Read: Inflation, unstable forex rate major challenges: BB governor He instructed the market committee for monitoring the market to ensure that the products are sold at the prices fixed by the government. Ahead of Eid-ul-Azha, still there is no crisis of spices, he told reporters after the meeting. “FBCCI will recommend the names to the govt. agencies for punitive measures if it finds anyone responsible for creating an artificial crisis by stockpiling goods,” he said. Besides, he urged the mill owners to send the dealers list for sugar, salt, flour etc. to FBCCI. Read: OECD delegation interested in FBCCI's Innovation Centre President of Mohammadpur Townhall Dhaka North City Corporation Kitchen Market Merchant Association Md. Lutfar Rahman (Babul) informed that the association shut down the shops which were accused of stockpiling and selling goods at a higher price and this will continue in future. Among others, FBCCI Director Bijoy Kumar Kejriwal, Harun-Or Roshid, General Secretary of Mohammadpur Townhall Dhaka North City Corporation Kitchen Market Merchant Association Md. Muslim Uddin Shikder were also present at the meeting.

Detective Branch (DB) of Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) arrested two employees of a shop in Hazaribagh area in the city on Tuesday in connection with the clashes between students of Dhaka College and traders and hawkers of New Market.  The arrestees were Md. Kawsar and Md. Babu Hossain. Also read: New Market Clashes: Three more remanded Based on secret information, Dhanmondi zonal team of the DB (Ramna Division) carried out drives in Hazaribagh area and arrested them. Md. Fazle Elahi, Additional Deputy Commissioner (ADC) of DB (Ramna Division), said Bappi, an employee of Welcome Fast Food, locked into an altercation with Kawser and Babu, two employees of Capital Fast Food, over keeping a table for iftar items on April 18.  Also read:New Market clashes: 5 Dhaka College students remanded in police custody At one stage, Bappi called some students of Dhaka College and beat employees of Capital fast food,  resulting in violent clashes between Dhaka College students and New Market shopkeepers, the ADC said. Earlier, nine people were arrested in connection with the clashes.

Telecom operators have suspended internet services in New Market area after a series of clashes between Dhaka College students and traders there Tuesday afternoon.  The mobile internet services in the area were suspended around 3:15 pm after getting directives from the government, said sources in telecom operators. Also read:Those responsible for New Market violence to face action: Home Minister The mobile internet services will remain snapped until further notice. Over 30 people including journalists and students were injured on Tuesday as students of Dhaka College locked into a series of renewed clashes with traders of New Market at Nilkhet intersection in the city. The whole area turned into a battleground after a fresh clash erupted between them around 10 am as a sequel to a clash Monday midnight.

Over 30 people including journalists and students were injured on Tuesday as students of Dhaka College locked into a series of clashes again with traders of New Market at Nilkhet intersection in the city.  The whole area turned into a battleground after a fresh clash erupted between them around 10 am as a sequel to a clash Monday midnight, said witnesses. Of the injured, some 24 people were admitted to Dhaka Medical College Hospital, said a DMCH source.  The clashes disrupted vehicular movement from Science Lab to Azimpur  and created a long tailback on Mirpur Road and adjacent areas.  Vehicular movement returned to normalcy around 6 pm as police dispersed the Dhaka College students after lobbing tear gas shells. READ: Dhaka College suspends classes, exams after clash Shop owners in the areas kept their shutters down since morning. 

The price of edible oil will not be increased until the integrated and uniform pricing system is finalized. The decision was taken after a tripartite meeting at the commerce ministry on Thursday afternoon, said AHM Safiquzzaman, additional secretary (Import and Internal Trade). Read: Soaring prices of key items in Dhaka turn up heat in the kitchen Safiquzzaman told reporters that the proposal of price hike by Tk 8 to Tk 10 for per litredible oil was not approved. At present the price of bottled soybean oil is Tk160 per litre. The traders  proposed to increase the price of this edible oil by Tk 8 per liter. In that case, the price in the retail market would be Tk168 per litre. The mill's gate price would be Tk158, and the distributor price would be Tk 162 per litre.